Based on a diversion for the unusually rainy summer days of Geneva 1816, Mary Shelley was slow in coming up with her story of inanimate matter made animate. But, egged on by her husband Shelley and Lord Byron, she eventually produced the bones of "Frankenstein." The novel started as a contest between friends and lovers to kill the boredom of a dreary vacation. Eventually, it was polished by the author into a classic work on the responsibility that we must bear for what we create (from machines to political, social, and emotional circumstances). It also addresses the necessity to act in harmony with nature, a benevolent or brutal force depending on our interaction with it.
"(I)mportant to feed our creations" was also inspired by the work of A. Curran, R. Rothwell, and R. Westall, whose Mary Shelley, Percy Shelley, and Lord Byron portraits are part of the National Portrait Gallery (London) Collection.
The key concept behind this Skyler composition is Shelley could have easily given up on her "monster" idea, but instead, unlike Dr. Frankenstein, she did not neglect it. Instead, she nourished it until it became an important work. Artists and scientists must do the same with our more unusual and bold ideas. They need to bring them to their full potential while taking responsibility for their possible consequences.
